Chocolate and Beyond

Ohhhhhh...Chocolala!

What can be more wonderful to welcome me home than a postal delivery of the most delightful fresh chocolates I've ever tasted?! On Monday morning my post arrived and I saw a little brown package lying there, having forgotten that I was waiting for a handmade chocolate delivery from Chocolala. When I opened it to see the little silver tin containing my cocoa treats I really was as excited as a child in a sweet shop!

Chocolala has very recently launched and is the UK's first and only maker of fresh chocolates to carry the Fairtrade mark - and yes, you can really tell the difference. They need to be eaten within 14 days (call that a problem?) as they are so fresh,

I'm back (again)

Been pretty much absent from work and home for the last two weeks since I've been in Dublin and then in Anglesey, Wales. Dublin was a holiday/press trip, and Anglesey was just a holiday. Both were fab, but I didn't half eat well in Dublin! In fact, I can safely say that I did indeed eat my way around the city!

In Dublin I tried a 'boxty' - which is like like a potato pancake (similar to a Staffordshire oatcake if you've ever tried them) and was stuffed with steak medallions and portobello mushroom cream sauce. Oh yum!

Eating while away...

I'm about to go to Dublin for a few days - and I already know I have a couple of wonderful meals in restaurants to look forward to. This is the hardest time for me and intuitive eating - when I'm getting fed and I don't have to cook food (or prepare my own smaller portions that I know are ample), I tend to overeat.

The mentality behind this is, of course, related to the idea that this is a 'one and only chance' (which it really isn't, because I eat out a lot!) and that I don't want to waste anything. But I have to remember what it says in Beyond Chocolate - "I'm not a dustbin"! And food that goes into my body that isn't needed is wasted anyway.

Chocolate lowers blood pressure?

Well hey, I'm always up for any story which positively promotes the goodness of chocolate and I was alerted to this BBC news feature by Rob, another devoted chocolate fiend. According to this report, a mouthful of dark chocolate each day could help reduce blood pressure, the effect of which has been attributed to the chemical plant substances known as flavanols which are contained in the cocoa.

While the British Heart Foundation are trying to say 'no way, too much fat and sugar', there is emphasis from the researchers that asking people to consume a couple of chunks of chocolate a day was far easier than encouraging "complex behavioural changes" to help them reduce their blood pressure.

I'm in a 'mouth hungry' mood

Argh. I've just stolen a handful of peanut M&Ms from my son's mini-fridge even though I'm not hungry, it's only 10am and I had a perfectly satisfying breakfast of cheese on toast topped with a poached egg at 8am. My mouth just feels like it needs something in it!

I was in this kind of mood last night as well - maybe the dreary weather and constant rain and darkness with a distinct lack of sunshine has something to do with it? It maybe that I've not had a proper walk for days as well, since my dog had an operation and hasn't been able to go out (and it's been a torrential downpour outside also, of course).

My heart is getting stronger!

I had my last personal fitness trial session last week and guess what? Fabulous results! David measured my blood pressure and checked my resting pulse rate (i.e. the rate at which your heart beats while not exercising) before the workout and both had come down, after only 5 training sessions!

While my resting pulse rate wasn't very high to begin with (generally, the lower it is, the fitter you are), it has come down to being within the 'fitness' range (bordering athletic, says David) as opposed to average. My blood pressure was also lower - even with the white coat effect! (Not that David had a white coat on).